MIGNANI, LAURA. – Religious, born in Brescia around 1480, died there on 10 January 1525. Having entered the monastery of the Augustinian nuns of Santa Croce at a very young age, she shone forth for the holiness of her life and inspired wisdom, which soon made her venerated in many cities.
She was in contact with the courts of Ferrara, Urbino, Mantua, Savoy, and maintained a correspondence with Elisabetta Gonzaga, Lucrezia Borgia, and the Gambera counts of Verolanuova. Above all, she was the enlightened counsellor and first inspirer of the young Gaetano Thiene, who called her mother and had been introduced to her by B. Stella. The surviving letters of their correspondence reveal the mystical fervour nourished by that holy friendship. Ancient documents accord her the title of blessed, though this has never been confirmed by the Church; her incorrupt body rests in Brescia in the convent of Santa Croce.